A young Aussie grommet's wish signified one thing: Bells Beach has not changed. Without fail, the 35th Anniversary of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Surfing & Music Festival delivered the classic frigid, challenging conditions that define the legendary cove. Throughout the day, a solid 6 ft. swell had stacks of angry walls pouring into Bells, which were inevitably met eagerly by the world's best.

And Bells has that innate ability to showcase why many of the world's top ten are......errrrr, the world's top 10. This wave gives you no help. If you need a helping hand when you are feeling sluggish, Bells kicks you when you're down. 'Lumpy', 'Bumpy', 'flat', 'sectiony', etc. were all too frequent adjectives flying from the grills of the world's top 45. However, this is Bells: the ultimate test of rail surfing. Sit down, have a meat pie, and accept it.

And with no surprise, the usual suspects came to play. Kelly, Andy, Mick, Taj, and Parko all schralped their way to heat wins, but it seems like there is still a bit of an early season hangover amongst the majority of surfing's most elite club.

After his stunning 'CT debut, Josh Kerr kerrplunked with a 7-point total, and Bobby Martinez didn't fare much better with his 8.5 cumulative score. Phil Macca wasn't too smiley after Pancho Sullivan's last second .09 win, as he growled his way up the trail back to the "car park".

And, there were 2 no-shows today. Neco "the new Animal" Padaratz missed his flight from Western Australia and Greg Emslie surpassed round 1 for the birth of his new baby. However, both have declared that it's 'game-on' for Round 2. By the way, how do you miss a flight when you are a 30-something tour vet anyway? At least Emslie can say that the wifey is happy.

However, at the end of the day, it's crystal clear what will win out here, and it doesn't take a history major to figure this one out. Take out the bread & butter, because it'll be shocking if a good old fashioned bottom turn/cutback combo' isn't the most ordered value meal. And after 35 years, we still can't wait to watch them bring it.